The Changes In His Life
by coolsmymiddlename
Summary: A single change can bring about a thousand more. What changes would occur if Harry's Grandparents were alive to take care of him. A what if scenario with huge changes.
1. PROLOGUE

**Hello Readers and welcome to my first ever harry potter fanfic this story is about what changes would occur if harry was brought up by his muggle grandparents. Would he befriend the Weasleys? What about  
Hermione? So many questions. Read to find out.  
**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

It was Halloween night. The night was dark and chilly in Godric's hollow, perfect for Halloween and no one was wasting it. So no one looked twice when a hooded figure walked by draped in black and so they did not notice him when he seemed to vanish between two houses. But anyone would notice if a house on fire suddenly appeared in between two others. Lord Voldemort, the most notorious dark lord in wizarding history, the one who had earned himself the moniker "He who must not be named", was vanquished by a child. **People meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"**

The boy in question was currently napping unaware in a flying motorcycle on his way to his new home.

"So who's bringing him here?' questioned Mcgonagall when she saw Dumbledore looking at his pocket watch. The 'here' in question was an old house at the end of Spinners end, Cokeworth where Harry's maternal grandparents lived.

"Hagrid, he should be here anytime now." said Dumbledore, the twinkling in his eyes noticeably absent. He was here to tell Mr and Mrs Evans about their daughter's death and explain the circumstances of harry's survival and subsequent living condition. It was not pleasant to be the bearer of bad news but only he could explain things and place the required protection around the house.

For you see, it was not exceptional magic from harry's part that saved him but his mother's sacrifice and love. Harry would be protected as long as he lived with his mother's blood relatives. There were two choices: his grandparents or his aunt. Dumbledore wanted to leave harry with his aunt as she would be more capable of handling a child. But Mcgonagall who knew of lily's mutual dislike to her sister and petunia's opinion on magic was adamantly against that. So they were now standing in front of their house awaiting the arrival of harry.

A tremendous roar broke them from their thoughts as a large motorcycle thundered down from the sky and an even larger man got down from it.

 **"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

 **"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

 **"No problems, were there?"**

 **"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right**

 **before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

 **Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

 **"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

 **"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

 **"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

 **"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."**

William and Hestia Evans were private lawyers who had started their own firm in their twenties. Now 30 years later, they were very well off despite paying for the education of their two girls, one of whom was magical. Oh what a surprise that had been, to know that a whole world had been hidden under their nose the whole time. Though Lily had kept the fact that she was in danger from them, James had always confided in them. He had told them that they were going into hiding for their child's safety. So it came as a nasty surprise to them when Dumbledore told them about James' and Lily's death.

"What about Harry? What happened to him? Don't tell me he is dead too?" asked Hestia.

"No, harry is not dead, Voldemort tried to kill him but the curse backfired and now Voldemort is defeated. Harry was saved due to Lily's protection, So he needs to stay with lily's blood relations for the protection to be more lasting. There may be other wizards who served Voldemort that may want to harm harry. After today there won't be a single wizard in the country who doesn't know young Harry's name **. I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as "Harry Potter's Day" in the future**. So it would be better for him to stay away from all that until he is older."

"Yes, of course harry will stay with us, we have legal guardianship of him after all" William replied.

"Good, I will add the extra wards around the place so that you don't get any unwanted visitors. Have a good day Mr and Mrs Evans" Dumbledore replied, the twinkle coming back to his eyes happy that harry would not be mistreated.

"Take good care of Harry. If he is anything like his father then you will have your hands full in no time" Mcgonagall said wiping away tears.

"G'bye 'arry " Hagrid sniffled.

The three of them disappeared into the night leaving harry potter with his grandparents for 10 peaceful years.

* * *

 **So that's the Prologue ,yeah it's not much but this is my first hp fic, so don't be too hard.**

 **Also about Dumbledore not leaving a letter and actually explaining, well it is because he knows that unlike petunia they won't mistreat him and also that Minerva threatened him.**

 **I don't know when i will update next but most probably within the month.**

 **So thanks for reading and please review.**


	2. CHAPTER 1- THE LETTER ARRIVES

**Hey guys I am back with a new chapter. Hurray. Thanks for the reviews. Read and enjoy.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1- THE LETTER ARRIVES**

Air whistled past his ear. His robes bellowed out behind him. He could see the tiny pinpricks of city light below him as he rode through the air expertly manoeuvring the huge motorcycle he was riding. He laughed with glee as he swished and flicked his trusty wand which shot out tiny puffs of smoke accompanied with loud bangs and victory music as was required after his defeat of the treacherous dragon. As he approached the ground he could see his countrymen cheeri **RRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGG** ….

Harry woke up and promptly threw his alarm clock at the wall for interrupting his dream. He soon regretted that action as it did little to stop the unpleasant noise. After getting up and _permanently_ taking care of the wretched alarm clock, He let out a big whoop on seeing the date. It was his birthday, his eleventh birthday.

Any day now he was going to receive his Hogwarts letter. He had learnt all about the wizarding world (or as much as his grandparents knew, which was not much) when he started showing accidental magic. It was during his seventh birthday, when he had accidentally turned his birthday cake blue (because it was his then favourite colour), that he had learnt about the secret world of magic.

His grandparents had told him stories of his mother bringing crazy stuff home and doing magic with her wand. They had told him many stories of the wizarding world which they had learnt from his mother. This secondary (tertiary?) source of information had led him to want to experience it firsthand.

Though his grandparents had expounded on many aspects of the wizarding world, they had been very quiet on the subject of his parents' death. When he had brought up the issue, they had told him that they could not explain it to him as they did not know much on the subject. They had told him that when he got his letter, someone from the school would come to fetch him who could better explain the issue. That had sounded very ominous and so he had left it at that.

Harry was exceptionally bright for his age and with it came a generous amount of curiosity. This had led him to try to control his accidental outbursts of magic into something controllable. Though the trials had ended in hilarious failures, he had succeeded in finding out which emotions did which kind of magic. He also noticed that while faking the intense emotion had made the magic work, it was relatively very weak compared to the real deal.

His dreams had also turned bizarre after learning about magic. They had consisted of billowing cloaks, wands, dragons and many more mythical creatures, though the one with the flying motorcycle had been a new one.

Harry was contemplating the advantages of a flying motorcycle over a normal one as he walked in for breakfast.

"Happy Birthday, Harry" greeted Hestia, as she set a plate of pancakes before him.

"Thanks grandma." Harry replied as he dug into his breakfast.

Hestia took this time to appraise her grandson. Messy black hair adorned his forehead partially hiding a thin lightning shaped scar. His eyes, the same emerald green as that of his mother's, was hidden behind new spectacles that he had demanded when he heard that his father wore them. His face was remarkably similar to that of James though his gestures and actions reminded her of Lily.

She could read his mood as well as she had been able to read Lily's and so she could see the mix of nervousness and anticipation in his eyes as he frequently glanced at the door.

"Calm down, Harry. It will be sometime till they come. Go open your presents in the meantime, Okay?"

"alright! **PRESENTS** " Harry cheered as he raced into the living room. His grandparents had promised to get him something useful for Hogwarts rather than the normal videogames and stuff that he received.

When he reached there he could see a huge gift wrapped present there and without further ado, he tore into it. It was a trunk which obviously had been used but nonetheless looked cared for.

"That was your mother's. When she bought a new one in her fourth year, she left this one here. There are also some of her notes in there from her first three years which I believe will be useful for you." came a quiet reply from his grandfather as Harry gazed thoughtfully at the trunk.

"Thank you Grandpa"

"Happy Birthday, Harry. You have become a big boy now. Eleven! whoa. How fast you grow up. It seems like only yesterday you were crawling around the place."

"grandpaaa…" whined Harry as William continued laughing at Harry's embarrassment.

* * *

Harry hurried down the stairs, tripped and crashed down to the floor when he heard the doorbell ringing. Mortified by his lack of coordination, he slowed down, took deep breaths to calm his flushing face and opened the door. Standing there was a girl about his age holding a cat. Suddenly the cat jumped and mid jump transformed into a woman. Harry's mouth fell open as he stared at the Not-Cat Woman. The Woman looked smug as the girl cursed.

"You didn't faint" the girl accused him.

"I was supposed to?" Harry questioned and the girl blushed.

"Ignore Miss Granger here, she is just upset that you reacted better than her when I transformed. May we come in? I am Minerva Mcgonagall , Deputy headmistress of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry and this is Miss Hermione Granger who is another student like you."

"How do you know who I am?" questioned harry.

"You look remarkably like your father except for your eyes. You have your mother's eyes" replied the Professor.

Harry accepted the answer thinking of questioning the professor later about his parents and introduced him to the girl who was looking at him curiously.

"I am Harry Potter. Pleased to meet you, Miss Granger." Harry stated using his most polite and gentlemanly voice trying to imitate the numerous books he had read.

"Likewise Mr Potter and call me Hermione please" she replied.

"Then please call me Harry, my fair lady" Harry replied shocked and pleased that another 11 year old like him had replied so elegantly.

"Now if both of you have completed showing off your etiquette lessons. Can we continue this conversation inside?"

Both of them blushed and nodded though they were eying each other with interest.

"Grandpa, Grandma, the Professor's here." Harry shouted and both Hermione and Mcgonagall snorted at his 180 degree change in behaviour."

Professor Mcgonagall retrived a letter from her robe and presented it to harry when his grandparents arrived.

It was addressed in emerald green to

Mr H Potter

Harry's Bedroom

8 Spinner's End

CokeWorth

He pulled out the letter and read:

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

 **Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

 **(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**

 **Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

 **Dear Mr Potter,**

 **We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

 **Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.**

 **Yours sincerely,**

 **Minerva McGonagall**

 _ **Deputy Headmistress**_

The Hogwarts' admission letter had finally arrived.

* * *

 **That's it for the second chapter folks. Hope you enjoyed that. Next chapter is the Trip to Diagon alley. I know that Mcgonagall seems very AU, But once she is in Hogwarts, she will be as strict as ever.**

 **Thank you for reading and please leave a review. Thank You.**


	3. Chapter 2-DIAGON ALLEY

**Here's the next chapter. Read and Enjoy.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2 – DIAGON ALLEY**

After assuring his grandparents that he would be returned by 6:00 pm at the latest, Professor Mcgonagall beckoned both Harry and Hermione to hold her hand. Confused, Harry grasped her hand, a moment and an unpleasant sensation of being squeezed on all sides later, all three of them were standing in a dead end alley which opened into a bustling street.

Hermione didn't appear surprised at all at their impromptu teleportation and he realised that she probably had used that mode of transportation to appear at his house. She was looking out for his reaction to this bit of magic, so he quickly hid his jaw-slacken expression behind an unimpressed look, though judging from the twin smirks on both teacher and student's face, his attempt had failed.

"So, what was that? And where are we?" asked Harry.

"That, Mr Potter, is the Apparition Technique. It is a form of magical teleportation through which a witch or wizard can disappear ("Disapparate") from one location and reappear ("Apparate") in another. What you went through was side along apparition. You will learn apparition in your sixth year. And for your second question, we are in London, near the entrance to Diagon Alley." Mcgonagall replied gesturing to follow her as she took them to a shabby pub called "Leaky Cauldron".

Harry had a sneaky suspicion that only they three could see it. Before he could ask her, Mcgonagall had walked in and so he and Hermione followed. Harry had never been in a pub before in his life and so had no idea if a magical one was any different from a normal one. It was dark and shabby. A few people were sitting in the corner drinking and an old woman was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the bartender who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut.

The chatter ceased when they entered the pub as everybody turned to see the new arrivals. The few people there nodded respectfully at Professor Mcgonagall.

"New muggleborn students, Madam Mcgonagall? The barkeeper inquired gazing at him and Hermione.

His eyes widened when he saw Harry.

"Is it…,Could it be? Bless my soul, Harry Potter, what an Honour"

That statement plunged the bar once again into silence as everyone's gaze fell on Harry. A moment of silence and then

"It is him, Harry Potter"

"The Boy Who Lived has returned"

The stampede began as everyone tried to get near harry. Mcgonagall let off a bang from her wand and she looked so severe that everyone returned to their seats.

" _Thank You_ Tom, we will be on our way then." Mcgonagall replied lips thinning as she looked at the barkeeper.

She herded a shocked Harry and a confused Hermione through the pub to a small courtyard.

"What was that? How did everyone know my name?" harry asked.

"I see, you were not told what happened to your parents, were you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Your parents were once my students too. During those times there was a dark lord by the name of Voldemort who was terrorising the magical world. After graduating they joined in the war effort to fight Voldemort and his followers. They were skilled and became a threat enough for Voldemort to recognize. So once you were born, they went into hiding to protect you. But they were betrayed and Voldemort found them. Your mother and father died protecting you. When he tried to kill you, the curse backfired and he was defeated and you were left with only a scar, though no one knows if he is truly dead or not. No one knows why you survived when countless others did not. That is why you are famous, Harry. You are known as The Boy Who Lived."

Harry was shell shocked and immensely sad at knowing that his parents had died saving him. Tears brimmed in his eyes which he quickly wiped away.

"Thank you for telling me, Professor".

Mcgonagall nodded at him sympathetically, then continued "Now, this is the way to Diagon Alley" as she pointed at the blank wall they were facing. She moved forward and tapped a set of bricks in a specific order, the bricks she touched quivered and a hole appeared which became bigger and bigger until an archway large enough to let all three of them at once, an archway that led to a cobbled street.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley" Professor Mcgonagall smiled at their expressions.

"First stop is Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank" she continued as she led them down the street.

Harry tore his eyes away from the shops he was surveying to inquire about the bank. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Hermione looking at a bookshop called "Flourish and Blotts" in barely suppressed eager.

"It's run by goblins, isn't it?" Harry remembered his grandparents mentioning the bank in one of their stories. He was dying to see a magical creature.

Hermione turned her head so fast to look at him that he was sure she had sprained her neck.

"Yes" Mcgonagall replied "it's one of the most secure places in the Wizarding world".

They had reached a snowy white building which towered over the other shops. Standing beside its bronze doors was a goblin dressed in scarlet and white. The goblin was a head shorter than harry with a swarthy clever face and pointed beard. The most notable feature was their long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked into the building. Now they were facing a set of silver doors with words engraved upon them.

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_  
 _Of what awaits the sin of greed_  
 _For those who take, but do not earn,_  
 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._  
 _So if you seek beneath our floors_  
 _A treasure that was never yours,_  
 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_  
 _Of finding more than treasure there._

As a great fan of well written rhymes, he couldn't but admire them even though they were fantastically morbid. The silver doors opened onto a vast marble hall. There were about a 100 goblins sitting on high stools on long counters, scribbling on ledgers. One of them was weighing red rubies.

The only other person that was not a goblin was a huge man who was searching his pockets for something. When they entered, he turned towards them and beamed when he saw Mcgonagall.

"Professor Mcgonagall, new students, eh?"

"Children, this is Rubeus Hagrid, Groundskeeper and Keeper of Keys of Hogwarts" Mcgonagall introduced.

"Is that little 'Arry?" Hagrid questioned. "The last time I saw yer were just a babe. Fit right in my palm, yer did".

"Hagrid was the one who brought you to your grandparents from your house" answered Mcgonagall to Harry's confused look.

Harry had no doubt about him fitting into Hagrid's palm as his hands were huge enough to easily fit a toddler. Harry liked this giant of a man at first glance too as he seemed like a likeable man even with his intimidating figure.

"What are you doing here Hagrid?" questioned Mcgonagall.

"Dumbledore asked me to pick up the You-Know-What from vault seven hundred and thirteen" he said patting one of his pockets. Mcgonagall nodded.

After some more pleasantries and promises to meet at the school, Mcgonagall herded them to a goblin.

"We have come to take some money out of Harry Potter's Vault and to exchange for Muggle currency"

"Do you have his key" the goblin inquired. Mcgonagall produced the key.

"Everything seems to be in order, Griphook take them to Mr Potter's Vault and also the currency exchange office"

Griphook was yet another goblin who led them towards one of the rooms just off the hall.

Mcgonagall produced about 1000 pounds from Hermione which she exchanged for a number of gold, silver and bronze coins.

"The gold ones are Galleons, the silver is Sickles and the bronze is Knuts. One Galleon is equal to 17 Sickles and one Sickle is equal to 29 Knuts. The exchange ratio is about 5 pounds to a galleon."

She gave it to Hermione. "This will last you atleast 2 years".

Next the goblin led them through a doorwhere marble hall turned to stone passages. There were little railway tracks on the ground and when Griphook whistled, a small cart came hurtling up the tracks. They climbed in and were off. After a lot of twists and turns, they stopped in front of a vault. Griphook unlocked the vault. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared Harry could see mounds of gold coins, heaps of silver and columns of bronze Knuts.

Wow, that was a small fortune to Harry's name. His grandparents had told him that his parents had left him money but this was a small fortune. After piling some coins from all three varieties into a bag under the watchful eyes of Professor Mcgonagall, they were off. A wild cart ride later they were once again outside Gringotts.

Harry could barely restrain the urge to run off and examine all the trinkets available. Mcgonagall dragged them both towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions before they could run off as even Hermione seemed eager to explore the alley.

Harry was ushered to the back of the shop while Hermione and Mcgonagall moved to another part of the shop. In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale pointed face was standing on a footstool while a witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on another stool, slipped a long robe over his head and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hogwarts, too?" the boy asked.

"Yes" said harry.

"My father's next door buying me books and mother's up the street looking at wands" said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow.

Harry was strongly reminded of schoolyard bullies and his cousin whom he had met once.

"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.

"Racing brooms?" questioned Harry incredulously.

"You don't know about brooms? Quidditch?" the boy asked.

"No."

"So a muggleborn, ah?" the boy sneered.

"Muggle raised" Harry replied.

"Not any better, is it? Well then you are destined for either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor."

He was liking the boy less and less every second.

But before Harry could answer or question, Madam Malkin said " That's you done, my dear" and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.

Hermione and Mcgonagall were waiting for Harry. Next they went to buy parchment and quills and on the way Harry questioned Mcgonagall on the various topics that the boy had talked about, with him and Hermione hanging onto every word Mcgonagall spoke. Apparently Quidditch was their sort of national game played on flying brooms and Gryffindor and Hufflepuff along with Ravenclaw and Slytherin were school houses that all students were sorted into .Gryffindor valued bravery, Hufflepuff loyalty, Ravenclaw knowledge and Slytherin valued cunning.

They bought their school books at Flourish and Blots where Hermione spent an inordinate time buying various other books to brush upon the Wizarding world. Even Harry bought a few books which he thought were interesting. Harry also bought a snowy white owl from Eeylops Owl Emporium when Mcgonagall mentioned that they could bring a pet to Hogwarts. And finally it was time for buying a magic wand. This was what Harry had been really looking forward to.

The shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382b.c. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A tinkling bell rang as they entered the shop. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library.

"Good Afternoon" said a soft voice. Both harry and Hermione jumped.

An old man was standing before them, his wide pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Ah yes, Harry Potter" this was getting really annoying. How did everyone know who he was? Were his parents that well known?

"And who will you be?"

"Hermione granger, Mr Ollivander"

"Well now, let's see. Which is your wand arm?"

Both him and Hermione were right handed. A tape started measuring her from shoulder to finger, wrist to elbow and all other sorts of ridiculous angles. Similarly he too was measured.

" Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Mr Ollivander was flitting around shelves taking down boxes.

"Now first Ms Granger, try this one Beech-wood and unicorn Hair, eight inches. Just take it and give it a wave".

Hermione took the wand and waved it once. Mr Ollivander snatched it out at once. "Not that one then, try this one". A number of trys later, Hermione settled on a 10¾ inches long wand, made of vine wood, and possessing a dragon heartstring core when it let out white smoke when she waved it.

And then it was Harry's turn. Harry tried and tried. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher.

"Tricky customer,eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere-I wonder now-yes, why not-unusual combination-holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework.

"Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well how curious how very curious"

"Sorry," said Harry," but what's curious?"

"I remember every single wand I sold, Mr Potter. It just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather-just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for the wand when its brother-why its brother gave you that scar."

Professor Mcgonagall inhaled sharply.

"What does it mean?" questioned harry.

"Mean? Magic is a mysterious thing, Mr Potter. It works in strange ways. It may mean nothing or it may mean everything. After all it is the wand that chooses the wizard."

'Why was everything in the Wizarding world so confusing and ominous?' Harry wondered as he paid for his wand.

Professor Mcgonagall apparated them back to Harry's house, gave him his train ticket and told him how to get on the platform. After warning him not to mess with magic until school started, she disapparated with Hermione.

Harry was one step closer to going to Hogwarts. He could not wait for September 1st to arrive.

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter 2. next chapter is Hogwarts express and the sorting. Read and review.**


	4. Chapter 3-Hogwarts Express

**Sorry for the long delay. Joined College. Life's too Hectic and I have SEM exams tomorrow. FML. Will try to update weekly.**

 **Chapter-3 HOGWARTS EXPRESS**

September 1,the day he had been looking forward to ever since he had heard of the wizarding world. His first official entry into the wizarding world. After his visit to Diagon Alley, he had started reading about the wizarding world especially about him in particular. The problem with the wizarding world was that it was a secret society so the internet held him no answers nor did the various "muggle books" he owned. He had to do with the information given in the books that he got from Diagon Alley. He had the sneaky suspicion that the information in the books were biased as there was no facts to accompany them. He had also kept in touch with the only other witch he knew. He and Hermoine had united over their love for Books and Dramas and had become good friends. They planned to meet aboard the Hogwarts express.

Harry was all set to go to Hogwarts. He had packed all he required and said his goodbyes. His Grandfather would drop him at KingsCross at train was to leave at 11:00 from platform 9 ¾.Harry had first been shocked to hear that their "secret train" to Hogwarts was actually in a public railway station until he learned about the secret platform. Wizards had weird ideas and Harry was starting to realise it. Running Head-on into a wall would never have been Harry's Idea of a secret entrance. It was unorthodox to say the least. But the probability of an unaware muggle accidentally finding out the pathway was low. He also suspected that they could not pass through the barrier. This was one of the reason why he had asked his grandparents to just drop him off at the station and not to come along with him. His grandparents had reassured him that they knew his reasons as they were the same as his mum's.

His grandpa dropped him off at the station with a "Enjoy your new school". "Don't forget to write home every week" and a " Don't cause too much trouble". Harry laughed and hugged him promising that he would cause no trouble with such an innocent face that no one could mistake it for the truth. He had no trouble finding platform 9 and 10. He was about to run straight at it when he realised that there was a lot of people in the area who could easily see him run towards the wall. But as he was contemplating this, a boy carrying a similar trolley ran towards the platform and passed through it and no one even batted an eyelash. What was even more weird was that at the moment he passed, no one was looking at him except Harry. It was like for that one instant, people had momentarily forgotten that that space existed. There was some magic at play there. Harry was happy that he did not have to take any drastic action to distract the people and left it at that. He ran full tilt towards the platform and smoothly passed through it.

Platform 9 ¾ didn't seem all that different except for the red Hogwarts express and the people. Wizards and witches dressed in different kinds of dress robes with pointed hats, bowler hats and with a variety of different things. School students, old and new piling into the train all happy and excited to be going to Hogwarts. He and Hermoine had planned to meet in the Hogwarts express. But they had failed to inform how they would communicate. Harry went in search of an empty compartment but all the compartments were full except for one which was occupied by a red haired boy.

"can I sit here? All the other compartments are occupied."

"yeah sure. I am Ron Weasley." The boy replied. Ron was tall for his age,gangly looking and his clothes were a bit too short for him.

"Harry Potter, Nice to meet you."

"you are Harry Potter, The Harry Potter?" the boy questioned surprised.

"yeah I am him" Harry replied, a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry about that. I have always been fascinated with the story of 'he who must not be named'". The way he said it made it sound like he had a personal grudge against the person in question.

They continued to chat as the train started and sped towards Hogwarts. Ron wasn't particularly talkative but he was interesting to Harry who had never met a pureblood wizard. But He was curiously mum about the topic of his homelife. Harry wondered about Hermoine in the back of his mind. It wasn't until a few hours later that they were disturbed. The blond boy Harry had met at Madam Malkins came in and as soon as Ron saw him, He stiffened.

"well well well , if it isn't disgraced weasley no: 7. How did you even afford Hogwarts?" the boy taunted as soon as he saw ron.

"None of your business, Malfoy. Get out" Ron turned red.

"Oh is the Weasley still sad over his parents' _untimely_ death?"

 **And that is the end of chapter 3. Ron's Parents are dead? What happened? Tune in next week for Chapter 4. Till then READ and REVIEW. Tell me some ideas as well. Going without a plan here.**


	5. Chapter 4-The Story Deviates

**Hey everyone, sorry for the long delay. Had a huge writer's block, Hope you guys are still interested in this story. Hopefully you will like this chapter. Read and review.**

"Get out Malfoy, Get out now!" Ron stood up and took out his wand.

"Or else what? You will run to mommy? Oh wait that's right, she's dead!" Sneered Malfoy.

" **Repulso"** Ron jabbed his wand through a semi circular gesture pointed at the gang. All three of them were pushed out of the compartment by an invisible force, Another spell later the compartment was locked. Harry who had never seen anyone perform a spell was vastly impressed by his skill. He could see that Ron was tired after using those spells. Harry had read in one of the books that he had bought, that Magical cores developed exponentially after reaching puberty and that most offensive spells would leave you exhausted if you use it as a child. He was dying to question Ron about the spells he used and how he had learnt them but sensed it was not the right time as Ron still seemed hung on what Malfoy had said. Harry could sympathise with Ron as he too was an orphan .

An uncomfortable silence settled on them until Harry could not take it anymore

"Sorry about your parents. I know how you feel, I am an orphan too"

"I know, you are quite famous in the wizarding world"

Harry didn't know what to say to that, The way Malfoy had talked, it seemed like Ron's parents' death had a story to it too, but he could see that Ron had no desire to speak about that topic. Ron was in desperate need for a change of topic and Harry was glad to provide one. After all Ron had 10 years of experience living in the Wizarding World, He was a treasure trove for Harry. Ron seemed to have first hand experience of all the things that harry had heard, it made him wonder how an orphan knew this much. They spent the time talking until the lunch trolley arrived and Harry got the chance to experience firsthand the wizarding sweets that his grandparents had told him off. Chocolate frogs that jump, Cauldron cakes, Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, Jelly slugs , pumpkin pastries and a lot of other goodies that harry had never seen in any sweet shops. Harry immensely enjoyed his train ride with Ron despite the trouble at the start. As the train ride went on, a timid little boy came in to the compartment searching for his toad, they informed him that they had not seen one and would notify him if they did.

A few minutes later the compartment door opened to reveal a bushy haired girl. "Have you seen a toad anywhere?,Neville's lost his" she said pointing to the timid boy from before and then "Hi Harry!".

"oh hey Hermoine!" Harry greeted. "This is Ron Weasley ", harry introduced his new friend. Well he thought he was a friend.

Hermoine looked shocked at the name and Ron withdrew into himself at her reaction.

"oh hello…I am Hermoine Granger. Nice to meet you."

Hermoine seemed ashamed at herself about her reaction, before it could get more awkward , she excused herself to go search for the toad.

Harry was getting more and more curious about Ron's mysterious past but could not bring himself to ask about that, fearing that he would close off.

As the skies darkened outside they changed into their wizard robes in preparation for their imminent arrival. The train came to stop at Hogsmeade station and the students piled into the station. Their trolleys would be taken into the castle separately.

"first years over 'ere, first years!" called a voice which came from the largest man that harry had seen. He was easily over 8 feet tall but the man seemed to be very genial and harry took an instant liking to him.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"  
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.  
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."  
There was a loud "Oooooh!"  
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.  
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione, still awkward over her first reaction to ron's name. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"  
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.  
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.  
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.  
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.  
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.  
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"  
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

 **So next chapter for sorting and more information on Ron's mystery. Read and Review.**


	6. Chapter 5 - The Sorting

**Hello my good old friends, you thought this story was dead? well never fear, there is still more things to be turned upside down in the wizarding world! We are only just getting started. Well, Onwards we go...**

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The door opened to reveal Professor McGonagall, looking as strict and professional as ever. She would have surely been an intimidating sight had she not been standing near Hagrid. He still dwarfed her despite her standing two steps above him.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take it from here"

"yer, 'course Professor" Hagrid replied as he moved away to let us inside the castle.

"Follow me now and don't dawdle" Professor McGonagall strode through the hall and Harry along with the rest of his year-mates followed hurriedly.

Harry couldn't contain his excitement, he was finally finally at Hogwarts, the legendary school that had always been the highlight of his grandparent's stories. Harry was coming to realize that his grandparents had glossed over the horrifying side of the wizarding world but he was a bit preoccupied to care about that now! He was only walking along a narrow corridor of the great castle and yet it held his fascination more than all the other things he had seen, Talking portraits of all manners of wizards and witches lined the walls of the corridor. One portrait had two full wizards in armor fighting what looked like the cross between a horse and an eagle, and another witch in a portrait was pulling out a tent from a small purse.

Professor McGonagall took them through a lot of twists and turns that seemed quite complex. Harry was almost certain that all these turns were quite unnecessary because it seemed like for every right turn they took, they turned a left and for every staircase they ascended they descended another. At long last Professor McGonagall finally came to stop in a small circular room that had a door leading out of it.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.  
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry looked around trying to see if anyone had taken the advice and was "smartening up". Ron looked as moody as ever while Hermione was busy spouting off about how she wished she had learnt this spell or that. Harry hadn't learnt half of what she was saying, but he was not that worried, He had learnt from the few books he had bought that wandless magic was a very rare art, one that almost no wizard or witch could do expertly. Harry had been fascinated about this because wandless magic sounded eerily similar to what he had done with controlling emotions. If he could do something that most wizards could not, then he wouldn't be that bad off. Moving on with his observation, Harry noticed that as time passed more and more of them were getting nervous, Neville had started shivering after a while, hearing hermoine go on about what she knew. The only other group that seemed comfortable in their surroundings were draco and his squabble of friends.

Then something happened that made several people scream - twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.

What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Harry had read about ghosts being real but actually seeing one was breathtaking. He had so many questions to ask, about death and the afterlife. He was just about to, when he had a sudden thought. Did making the ghosts aware of their deaths destroy them? Was it a case where when you became conscious of it, you could never do it. Harry didn't want to find out if that was true in practice!So he held his breath.

"Move along now, the sorting is about to begin" Professor McGonagall had returned and shooed them all in. "In a straight file,now Follow me" she led them through the door across a hall and in through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was indeed befitting to its name. It was lit by thousands and thousands of floating candles levitating over four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting. Across the double doors situated another long horizontal table where the other teachers were sitting. Harry's eyes went to the ceiling which opened up to the heavens, they wouldn't have not build a ceiling would they? His suspicion was confirmed by Hermoine. He really ought to ask her where she learnt so much from in such a short time.

Harry let his eyes wander over the Great Hall watching the rest of the students chatting and mingling around at ease, at the teachers who were murmuring with each other. His eyes fell on the most bizarre wizard he had seen of yet, an old man with flowing white hair and beard which he had tucked into his belt. He like the others was wearing wizard robes but it was a shocking bright blue that stood out among the see of black. But Harry could not but feel that this wizard was the most powerful one he had seen.

The gaggle of first years suddenly fell silent and Harry looked back at Professor McGonagall who had placed a four-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. He noticed that the whole hall had fallen silent and was staring intently at the hat.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing. **[the usual song]**

A singing hat that could see into his head and determine his virtues! The magical world was getting crazier and crazier. He couldn't wait to try it on. Did the hat have a conscious? Could it tell him the secrets of the castle? Or did it forget everything as soon as it was removed from someone's head? So many questions but again Harry was reminded of his predicament. He really didn't want to mess with magic until he got more information. He was tempted to ask Hermoine if she knew but held back not wanting to sound ignorant in front of her.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause -  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones,Susan" went to HUFFLEPUFF"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers;

So the tables were arranged Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin from the far left to the right. Harry had read that house rivalries were pretty common and it was intense with Gryffindor and Slytherin. Was that why those two were kept as far as possible? Harry could see why those two houses would butt heads from the sorting Hat's explanation. The traits of Gryffindor who valued courage and bravery was in direct contrast to Slytherin's Cunning and sneaky approach. It was a classic scenario, but Harry couldn't understand how the hat decided who belonged where? Not all these 11 year olds had such distinct traits,did they?He could not imagine him being too brave or too sneaky at any point in his life.

The names trickled by and Harry noticed that the hat was not consistent with its approach. Sometimes the hat shouted the name at once but with others it took had to sit through a whole 5 minutes and had finally been sorted to "RAVENCLAW". She looked thoughtful as she walked along to the Ravenclaw table and Harry had a sudden feeling that she would fit right in. Neville took twice as long to be sorted into "GRYFFINDOR" while the hat took just a second to put Malfoy in "SLYTHERIN".

There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

The Harry Potter?"

Harry frowned, he thought he would just be another student here but it seemed to be diagon alley all over again. He quickly walked over to the last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.

"ha, a curious mind, a very curious one indeed " a voice whispered in his ear or was it inside his head?

"well, what do you think? Am i inside your head or whispering in youe ear"

"you have a rip that acts as a mouth but you can also read minds, but when you were sorting the other students your "mouth" opened only to shout the House name, so i am guessing its inside my head"

"very astute, you would do well in Ravenclaw" the hat thought? to him.

"So you read only what i think not my entire mind, how do you sort then? You let the students think themselves over until you find their most prevalent trait?"

"Not quite, but concluding so much from what you observed, you are quite the specimen, I can 'read' your subconscious mind and from what i have seen from you, Bravery and courage suit you as well ,just like your parents. Gryffindor would be good for you."

"Read my subconscious? So you know about the self-awareness thought?" Harry inquired.

"Quite right, but i am already self-aware, its been quite fun but now ,just where to put you?Well Better be..."

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 **And thats chapter 5, where will Harry go? Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? I haven't quite decided, I can see it go both ways. If you have any suggestions, Please Review.**

 **Thanks for reading, as always Enjoy!**


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